Born in France to her Mozambican mother and Guinea-Bissauan father, Loide grew up in California, at the intersection of seemingly disparate cultural expressions. With only hymnals, doo-wop, and soul allowed in her observant Christian home, these sonic styles formed the first strands of her melodic DNA. Later, she would fuse them with the Afro-luso melodies and verse she heard in the homes of family friends, the hymns she sang in Portuguese with her family, and the European classical compositions she studied and performed at church and school.

On track after track of her first full-length in-studio album, Loide leverages these references to brilliant effect, code switching and interchanging English and Portuguese with dexterity. In the process, her story and sound stream past category and convention.

This is jazz with a side of saudade. Afro-Luso rhythms fused with African-American blues. Good news of hope for the least of these.